American oncologist arrested after thousands of child pornography images were discovered on his iCloud account

This is a case that is likely to cause a stir in the current context. 58-year-old American oncologist living in San Francisco was arrested in possession of 2,000 pornographic images and videos featuring minors. This illegal content was stored in the doctor’s iCloud account. However, the arrest of the suspect does not result from monitoring the contents of the photos stored in iCloud: Apple does not practice this type of control (for the moment at least) and is “content” to check the attachments in emails received on iCloud (which we have known for 2 years but which is emerging today following the CSAM controversy).

The authorities intervened following the sharing of a child pornography image on the social media Kik. The doctor probably thought he was safe on this type of platform, but the feds were watching. It was during the investigation started after this illegal sharing that the police got their hands on thousands of child pornography content stored on iCloud. The suspect will soon be brought before a judge and faces a heavy sentence if convicted by the courts.

Will Apple mention this case in order to “justify” its decision to check the contents of the iPhone photo library? Since the announcement of its hash technique control system, many organizations, security experts and even the whistleblower Edward Snowden have expressed their concern about the possible abuses of this type of intrusive technology. Anti-child pornography controls will be integrated into iOS 15 (and active in the United States initially).